Page 33 - Like No Business I Know

Somnilac

“Many attribute this to television and computers, removing human
beings from face-to-face contact, draining the desire for
confrontation and debate, encouraging passivity and materialism,
stultifying thought and action. Those new technologies in themselves
may well contribute to herd mentality, but something was overlooked
in this calculus: the physiological effect of all the electromechanical
devices connecting us now to daily life. The artificial and excessive
stimuli, the temporal disjuncture and overloaded schedules all
contribute to a bad night’s sleep. To the extent that the resultant
deprivation of information processing makes a person unable to
understand the root causes of his or her life’s difficulties, the status
quo maintains itself without any further effort. Do you understand
the implications of what I just said, Mr. Pfizer?”
“Well, no, not exactly.”
“If even one-tenth of the population gets the kind of sleep your
product can deliver, we will be facing something on the order of a
revolution. A peaceful one, perhaps, but every person in this room
would be looking for another job. This is why Mr. Cado is here
today. I hope he will not have to bring the president any unpleasant
news. I hope he will be able to say that this threat has been
removed.”
“Removed? You mean you want me pull the plug on Somnilac
completely? Not even sell it overseas?” Pfizer was on the verge of
tears.
“That’s right,” said Noah Kant. “Consider this: whatever short-
term gain you might have achieved from Somnilac would be dwarfed
by the long-term loss Schmerck would suffer when people woke up,
as it were, and realized—and publicized—the fact that most of the
drugs you sell are useless, dangerous or incredibly overpriced.”
“What! How dare you say that, you overstuffed bureaucrat!”
Kant shrugged.
“Someone had to say it; we drew straws.”
Pfizer pounded the table.
“No! No! No!”
Shura Zell grimaced and touched his well-tailored shoulder.
“Sir, I think they have a point. We’d better go back and look at the
numbers again.”

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